David Ainsley sent this open letter on 10 Nov 2010 to Richard Lochhead, MSP, Jim Mather, MSP, and Kenneth Gibson, MSP:
Dear Cabinet Secretary,
I refer to the article in the Sunday Times 07.11.10 by Charles Clover [The Scalping of Scotland in the Scallop War]. In this article he expresses concern at "how unhealthily close the Scottish Nationalist administration is to the most over-capitalised, destructive and irresponsible parts of the fishing industry".
The Isle of Man is a model for how fisheries should be managed. It has a network of closed areas to allow scallop stocks to rebuild themselves after years of overfishing. The first closed area has been in place for 20 years and is produces 100 times the number of young scallops per unit area as compared with adjacent fished areas. The closed areas have been seen to be so successful that there are now six of them, designated with the support and involvement of the local fishing industry.
By contrast Scotland's fisheries are poorly managed, with nomadic fleets of dredgers moving into an area, causing a great deal of damage and then repeating the process elsewhere.
It is no surprise that the Isle of Man Administration seeks to protect its waters from some of these boats, as no doubt we would if the positions were reversed.
Voters are becoming aware of the problems caused by overfishing and media attention on the subject will continue to increase.
The loss of fish and shellfish is now so obvious, it is no longer credible to deny that a major problem exists.
Scottish Government represents the interests of all the people of Scotland, who have a public right to fish, and hence a right to call for their fish stocks to be managed sustainably. These interests are not the same as the vested interests of the fishing associations which disproportionately represent the damaging towed gear sector.
Last year at the CFP [EU Common Fisheries Policy] meetings in Brussels, there was a move by Scottish Government to call for the reopening of the tangle net fishery off the West Coast of Scotland. The fishery had been closed as one of the measures under the Cod Recovery Plan. The decision was for the fishery to remain closed and to be reviewed in 12 to 18 months. The inshore fishery targets Crawfish, a heavily overfished species. It also produces high levels of by-catch of porpoise and seals. It is probable that the majority of Scottish voters would not be in support of the reopening of a fishery which earns nobody a living and kills porpoise and seals.
I attach fuller information on the subject [David Ainsley's report: Scottish Porpoise under threat – see below].
I attach fuller information on the subject [David Ainsley's report: Scottish Porpoise under threat – see below].
Please keep me informed of when the subject will be considered again, and what the Scottish Government position will be.
It is not just fisheries, but the entire ecosystem including iconic wildlife and hence tourism, which flourish when areas are protected.
Yours faithfully,
[MPJ comments: diver, underwater nature explorer, author of Scottish Porpoise under threat (2010?) – for your own copy of the report, please leave a comment with your co-ordinates on this post and we'll get back to you. Needless to say, we will not publish your details!]
*****
PS by MPJ, your blogger:
See also
• Charles Clover, Tuna commission takes limited action to save sharks but fails again to ensure recovery of bluefin tuna, 28 Nov 2010
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